Deputy Brian Lenihan has been given permission to raise on the Adjournment the subject matter of a Private Notice Question today. He has eight minutes and the Minister has four minutes.
Adjournment Debate. - State-Sponsored Company Appointments.
The reason that has prompted me to put down this private notice question, which you, Sir, so kindly have allowed me to raise on the Adjournment, is the very serious practice that has arisen with regard to the present Govern-ment of interference in the senior executive appointments of State-sponsored companies. Across the board there has been a growing tendency towards ministerial interference and direction in such appointments. The example related to this matter is that of the Minister for Agriculture who wrote to the chairman of CBF, the meat marketing board, and directed him not to renew the appointment of the chief executive of that company who has been one of the outstanding food technologists of our time in regard to his expertise and knowledge, that is Dr. O'Sullivan. His contract has been terminated by the action of the Minister by direct interference with the board via the chairman of the board who was authorised by the Minister to ensure that before his contract period expired Dr. Tony O'Sullivan's contract would not be renewed.
Deputy Lenihan is aware that only the first part of the question was regarded as qualifying for an Adjournment Debate. The second part which deals with the appointment of a chief executive does not qualify because no ministerial responsibility is involved.
I appreciate what the Ceann Comhairle has stated. The operative phraseology should be that it is not a ministerial matter and should not be the responsibility of the Minister, but on this occasion, as the chairman of the board and the board themselves can vouch when they consider the ministerial letter, there was no option except to proceed in a certain way on what was basically a direction from the Minister and a suitable reward which subsequently has been given in awarding a directorship of the Turf Club to the chairman of the board concerned. Apart from that scandal which is quite outrageous, we have the further scandal which forms the major part of the question which I put down and which the Ceann Comhairle has ruled to be in order, that is the decision not to sanction the reappointment of the ICMSA nominee to the board of CBF. This man, Mr. Nicholas Ryan, has given outstanding service on behalf of the Irish creamery milk suppliers to the board of CBF over the years. Now, apparently, the Minister has seen fit, again in an arbitrary manner, to interfere and refuse to sanction his appointment.
I want to quote the relevant section to the Minister to show how he has exceeded his mandate. Apparently, this Govern-ment do not bother about acting illegally in any way, nor will the press print it if they act illegally in any way. It is quite clear under the first part of section 6 of the Córas Beostoic agus Feola Act, 1979 that the Minister has certain direct ministerial appointments. The voluntary bodies come into operation under paragraph (b) subsection (1) of section 6 which provides that the board shall consist of members including three persons who shall represent the producers of bovine animals and sheep and who shall be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of such organisation as the Minister considers to be representative of such producers.
The only out for the Minister in that context is a very careful legislative exclusion of any person belonging to an organisation considered by the Minister not to be a reputable organisation suitable to make such an nomination, but in this case the Minister has rejected the nomination of the major milk producing organisation, the ICMSA, and rejected their nominee, Mr. Nicholas Ryan, who has performed excellently on the board for a number of years. Presumably in the interest of ensuring that some political hack is appointed, the Minister has rejected the nomination of the ICMSA. He is ultra vires in that regard and is acting illegally unless the ICMSA are considered not to be representative of the producers of bovine animals and milk. In any court of law that would be regarded as a ludicrous proposition. Clearly, within the terms of the subsection, the Minister has a mandatory obligation to appoint the nominee of the major representative organisation.
Instead, we have a blatant example of the Minister refusing to sanction the appointment of the ICMSA nominee to the major meat marketing board. This refusal to reappoint the chief executive, who is an outstanding man in the area of food technology, comes at a stage when the board appear to be doing a very good job, at a time when, according to an editorial in The Irish Times of 28 December 1984, in which the CBF report is commented on, there has been a dramatic increase in the exports of vacuum packed beef, an increase of no less than 54 per cent for 1983 bringing the value to £64 million. The editorial makes the further comment that this significant development is a pointer for the future and underlies what can be achieved by scientific approach and adventerous marketing——
The Deputy has one minute left.
——which is precisely the sort of techniques introduced by Dr. O'Sullivan into his executive position as managing director of CBF. As Minister for Agriculture, I found CBF and the representatives of the voluntary organisation — for example Mr. Nicholas Ryan and in particular the chief executive, Dr. Tony O'Sullivan — to be outstanding in their handling of agricultural marketing in the beef area. They were outstanding in regard to their marketing expertise and in regard to research into producing products for the market. Those two people particularly helped me enormously when with the CEO of CBF and members of the board I went to North Africa and opened up the market there.
The Deputy's time has expired.
At that time, two and a half years ago, I opened up the North African market which is now bigger than the British market that is boasted about so often. I opened up a market that extends from Morocco through to Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, Egypt and into Saudi Arabia, a market that is being diversified now into sophisticated beef products, to processing beef products, thereby moving away from the traditional live animal exports.
I am calling on the Minister to reply. The Deputy must conclude.
This movement will help greatly in the area of employment.
The Deputy is being disorderly.
The Minister is now seeking to sabotage this potential just as other Coalition Ministers are doing in other State organisations. They are seeking to sabotage the morale of organisations——
The Deputy must conclude. He is abusing the privilege of the Adjournment Debate.
——simply for the purpose of appointing political hacks to the job.
Hear, hear.
The Coras Beostoic agus Feóla Act, 1979, provides that the board of CBF shall include three persons representing the producers of bovine animals and sheep who shall be appointed by the Minister on the nomination of such organisations as the Minister considers to be representative of such producers. Each member of the board holds office for three years and is eligible for reappointment. The term of office of one of the three members representing producers expires each year.
The term of office of an ICMSA nominee expired on 30 September last and, as is normal practice, I requested the ICMSA to inform me of their nomination to fill the vacancy. They gave me a nomination and the IFA concurred with this. I accordingly proceeded to exercise my statutory function and duly made the appointment.
I accepted the nomination in good faith and I have not heard officially from the ICMSA that they are not happy with this nomination.
On the point being made by Deputy Lenihan, I have not interfered at any time with the activities of the board of CBF nor suggested in any way that any appointment should be either made or terminated. In a report in the Irish Independent on Monday last there was in insinuation that I had interfered. As a result of that totally incorrect report I issued the following press release:
The Minister for Agriculture, Mr. Deasy, today refuted the insinuation in a report in one of this morning's papers that he gave some form of direction to the board of CBF about the post of chief officer of that body.
The letter referred to in the press report was a routine one issued from the personnel division of the Department to State-sponsored bodies when contracts or appointments of chief officers are expiring to ensure that the remuneration and other conditions applicable to the post continue to be as recommended by the Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector. The letter to CBF did not in any way suggest or imply that a new appointment should be made. It asked the board to forward to the Department, for clearance by the Minister and the Minister for the Public Service, a copy of any proposed contract or extension of the existing contract.
In other words, the letter was routine, the type of letter that is sent always to semi-State bodies when the position of a chief executive is to be filled. The letter is identical with a letter sent by Deputy Lenihan as Minister for Agriculture on 29 April 1982. That letter was to the board of the National Stud and concerned the terms of employment of a new manager for the stud.
The difference is that no one was being dumped.
The Minister must be allowed reply.
No one was being black-guarded or fired. That is the big difference. The Minister used the chairman of the board to do the dirty work.
It is a case of coming in the back door.
This is a disgrace. Deputy Lenihan was given permission to raise a matter on the Adjournment but he is abusing that privilege. He was allowed speak without interruption but he is not prepared to extend the same courtesy and right to the Minister.
I was merely making the point that the letter referred to was merely routine.
The point is that the Minister is dumping a very good man.
I have not at any time made any approach to or said anything to the board in regard to whom they should appoint.
The most able man in this field is being dumped.
I refute any allegation of interference on my part. If the Deputy can prove anything to the contrary why is he not doing so.?
The most able man in the country in the agricultural business is being fired.
I was not even aware that the contract of the individual concerned had expired.
He has been dumped.
The letter was the same as the one sent by the Deputy when he was Minister.
I am talking about what has happened.
What has happened was a matter for the board of CBF and I as Minister would not interfere with the decision of any semi-State board and I have not done so on this occasion.
Is the chairman of the board not a member of the Turf Club?
The Dáil adjourned at 5.30 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday 26 February 1985.